Shadows of the Past
by Stretch
Summary: When a hidden history meets an uncertain future, they must battle for the fate of the present! Please R&R!! *~*Enjoy Chapter 6*~*
1. Discovery

Disclaimer: This is an old idea I've been playing with for a while.  I wrote it while the series was still running.  In this story, the events following book number 45 never came to be, kay?  Alright then…and oh yeah.  Contrary to popular beliefs, I do not own the Animorphs.  I just call on them to do my bidding.  Muh hahahahah! (evil laughter).

Shadows of the Past

My name is Kit.  And it was 3 am when I  heard the muffled BANG from down the hall.  Slowly, I pulled back the covers and tip-toed down the hall toward my parent's room, making sure not to step on the squeaky board.  The bedroom door was half closed, but I could see the faint light shining through the crack that remained open.  Rather than entering, I pressed my face up close to the crack and peeked in.  My mother's covers were pulled off the right side of the bed and onto the floor, like she had rolled out.  Her beside table light was on the lowest setting and I could hear the muffled sounds of water running through the closed bathroom door.

            My Mom's name is Rebecca, and she'd had another one of her nightmares and rolled out of bed.  When I was little, I once asked her what she dreamed about that frightened her so much, but she just kissed my head and told me they were about nothing.  I didn't buy it, but I never broached the subject again.  They've gotten better, but she still has them once in a while, especially after my dad returns to the base after a service leave.  He's an Air Force pilot and, even through we'd moved to be closer to the base, my mom still worries when he's not at home.  My mom is a D.A…a district's attorney for a law firm downtown.  We live in a pretty big suburban area about a 45 minute drive away from the city, and a two day drive from the base.  

            Personally, I don't think anything could really frighten my mother.  My dad took me to see her prosecute a case once and, well, I'd have been afraid if I were on trial.  She questioned that guy to within an inch of his life; showed him no mercy.  It was a change, this blood thirsty side of her.  I mean, at home with me, my mother was as overprotective as they came.  I was the kid who wasn't allowed to ride my bike around the block alone until I was 12…12 for Christ sake!  But anyway, back to that night.

            I was wide awake now, with no hope of getting back to bed, so I crept downstairs into the kitchen.  I figured I'd get something to drink and then go back and tackle some of that homework I'd been meaning to do.  I was walking to the sink when I noticed a funny red glow coming from that direction of the corner desk.  I crept closer and realized that it was the 'extension in use' signal on the phone.  Who would my mom be talking to at 3 am?  Curious, I gently picked up the receiver, praying that the slight noise went unnoticed.  

            "…sure you're alright?" my dad asked.  I breathed a silent sigh of relief.  At least she wasn't…oh I don't know, talking to an on-the-side boyfriend or anything.  But I didn't put the receiver down right away.

            "I told you, I'm fine," my mom replied, frustrated.

            "Hey, don't be upset with me, you called me, you know."

            "I'm aware.  It's just…just that I'm not scared really, I'm worried.  What is something happened and we couldn't protect her."

            "Nothing is going to happen dear.  We've been through this," my dad responded aggravated.  What the hell were they talking about?

            "But they're getting more active.  What if they come back.  I mean, we did leave them a score to settle."

            "But they're no coming back.  I've been in touch with every contact we've got and they all agree that they're not headed here."  Who's 'they'?

            "Yes.  I know you're right…I just worry.  Are you positive-," she started to say.

            "-the system's working?  Yes, I went over it twice," my father replied glibly.

            "And the dracon beam, is it-?"

            "-where it always is?  Yes.  Everything is fine, but you need to get some sleep and so do I…"

            "Oh, what, am I interrupting your REM cycle.  Sorry, I'll just…," my mother responded, clearly pissed.

            "Don't start with me, Bec, that's not what I meant.  Listen, I'll check in tomorrow.  Until then, try and get some sleep, okay?" my father replied.  He was always the peacemaker in out family

            "Yeah, I will.  I love you," my mother replied.  I could just picture her upstairs.  Sitting on the edge of the bed, gripping the phone with both hand, eyebrows knitted together as she spoke.

            "Love you too, sweetheart.  It's all gonna be okay.  I promise."

            "Bye."

            "Bye."  There were two dull clicks before I finally hung up.  I stumbled up the stairs to my room, completely forgetting my water.  My mind was buzzing.  What were my parents up to?  Who was in danger?  And who are 'they'?  But most of all was this one: 'why are my parents involved in the first place?'  Numbly, I turned over in bed and waited for sleep, sleep which did not come.  Little did I know that down the hall, my mother was having the same trouble.

            She was up early the next morning.  I heard her in the kitchen around 6 am, but I rolled over and didn't stir again until she came to wake me at 7:30.  

            "Morning sweetheart.  Sleep well?" she questioned.  I pulled the pillow over my head and grunted in reply.  I wanted to say, 'no thanks to you.'  But I didn't.  I was burning with questions after the conversation I overheard last night, but I didn't want her to know I'd been eavesdropping.  Ever so slowly, I turned over and squinted at her, half blinded by the light as she open my shades.  "Listen, I've got an early deposition to go to this morning, but I wanted you to be up before I left so you could lock the door behind me."  See what I mean?  Overprotective!  I nodded though, deciding to be complacent this morning, rather than protesting like I normally would have.  I had a sudden idea.

            "I'm up, I will.  Have a good deposition," I muttered, still half asleep.

            "I'll call you when I'm done.  Get some breakfast," she said as she leaned down and kissed my head.

            "I will.  See you later mom," I replied, brushing her short, blonde hair off my cheek.

            "Bye honey."  And she walked out of the room, just like that.  Off to fry another scumbag. 

            I rose and got dressed and when I heard the 'click' of the door closing behind he, I made my way out into the hallway.  Stretching up on tip-toe, I grabbed the pull string and wrenched down the attic steps.  I was going to find some answers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dust rose in puffs with each of my footsteps.  I made my way over to the western corner.  When my dad and I went up there to put away decorations and get summer clothes out of storage, he always told me to stay out of there.  He said it's because there was a mouse hole over here.  But now I decided to see what was really hidden behind those piles of boxes and bags.  With some difficulty, I pushed aside a container of old Christmas lights.  Behind the makeshift wall of junk, there was an old, worn cardboard box.  It had the name of a shipping company written on the side, and was bashed in at one corner.  

            I brushed the inch-thick dust off the top and revealed a yellowing label that read 'My Stuff, Private.'  Yeah, like that was going to keep me out.  I pried off the tape that sealed the edges and slowly raised the lid.  I was expecting to find a skeleton in the hypothetical closet, but I only saw several worn notebooks and a shoe box.  Disappointedly, I picked up the top notebook and flipped through it.  In was a Five-Star, you know, one of those 5 subject ones that had little dividers and a textured purple cover.  I stopped somewhere in the middle and read.

 "Another bad night.  Awful dreams.  Despite everything, I just can't get those…those pictures out of my head.  I was back in the Yeerk pool, in bear morph for the first time.  I was in a frenzy.  The blood lust, the sheer power…I was out of control.  And despite everything, I loved it, I loved the power…"

My breath caught in my throat.  This couldn't be right.  I picked up the second notebook, flipped through it again, stopped and read.

"I can't believe it!  That cheat!  He screwed us over!  He makes us do all his dirty work and then he cheats us!  Tobias…I don't know how he is right now.  I feel like my heart is breaking though.  He wouldn't do it.  He decided to stay a hawk and…I don't know what I wanted or expected, but it wasn't this…"

This page was crumpled and I saw what looked like tear stains.  But neither of those facts concerned me.  I don't think I was actually comprehending what I was reading at his point.  My mind was buzzing.  I tore open the shoe box and dumped the contents on the floor in front of me. 

Newspaper clippings.  Pictures and articles from the time around the end of the secret Yeerk Wars…the Animorph wars.  Headlines…Teens Save World, Extraterrestrial Invasion Foiled.  The one thing that really caught my eye was a mauve document, very official looking.  I unfolded it.  The title read Certification of Legal Name Change.  It listed a lot of information.  My world fell down around me.  My breath caught in my throat.

My mother's name wasn't Rebecca.

My mother's name was Rachel.

My mother was _the_ Rachel.

My mother was an Animorph.

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A/N: So, what do ya think?  This is a permanent 'To Be Continued' story until you hear otherwise.


	2. Escape

Chapter 2

            I don't know how long I sat in that attic for, surrounded by dust and memories long forgotten by time.  By the time I rose, the shadows behind me had grown a foot.  I placed all the articles and clippings back in the box…well, almost all of them.  I took one with me.  It was a picture of the original Animorphs standing together in front of a fighter that resembled scrap medal more than a ship.  According to the date and by-line, it was taken just after the final battle.  It showed all the people whose names I'd once had to memorize for history class.  My mother, Rachel, was standing on the left end, with a large hawk perched on her shoulder.  I folded that picture up and stuffed it into the first notebook.  I took all three notebooks with me.  Then arranged the boxes and bags to look like I had never been back there, and then I climbed down from that tomb of forgotten lives.

            I had decided not to confront my mother until I knew more about why she'd kept it from me in the first place.  I'd stuffed her journals in the one place I knew she'd never find them: between my mattress and my box spring, tucked under the sheets.  I out them next to my own journal…well, sketchbook really.  I wasn't a very good artist, but I found it relaxing, so I took the classes in school.  It wasn't until then that I realized how hungry I was.  I put the mattress back in place and got up to leave my room, when something caught my eye.  It was a picture of my mother and I at an amusement park near our home.  We had decided to have a chili dog apiece and then see who could ride this one coaster the longest.  Well, neither of us would admit defeat, so we called it a tie at 9 rides.  Anyway, we were sitting next to each other on a bench and the sun was going down behind us.  It really was a pretty shot.  I'd never realized how similar my mom and I looked.  Same blonde hair, though mine was longer.  Same face structure.  In fact, the most noticeable difference was in the eyes.  Her's were ice blue whereas mine were a deep brown/gold.  I had my father's eyes.  For some reason, that picture just depressed me.  Gently, I took it off the wall and laid it face down on my bed.  Then I went downstairs.

            By 3, I started to get worried.  Depositions never ran this long, and even if they did, mom would have called me during a recess or something.  It wasn't like her.  As I dialed her cell number, I felt the slight tingle of fear on the back of my neck.  What if something had happened to her?  Her cell connected me to her voice-mail, so it was either off or the battery was dead.  

            "That means nothing," I told myself, "she always turns it off."  It wasn't until I called her office, and they said she hadn't been in all day, that I got seriously freaked.  I was on the phone with information, getting the numbers of local hospitals, when the call waiting beeped in.  I checked the caller I.D.  It was my dad's number at the base.  I clicked over to him.  Maybe he knew something.

            "Dad?  Do you know…?" I had started to ask about mom, when he cut me off.

            "Kit, honey, no time for that now.  I need you to listen to me and listen good.  Alright?"  He did ask a question, but the tone of his voice prevented me from answering.  My dad sounded…well, scared, nervous, angry?  Either way, it wasn't an inflection I'd heard him speak with before.

            "What's going on-?"

            "No time for questions now.  Listen, you know the step in the basement that squeaks?  The one you jump when you sneak in?"  I slapped my forehead.  So, he knew about that, huh?

            "Yeah, the fourth from the bottom.  What about it?" I questioned, staring to think that my father had gone nuts.

            "Okay, go down there, pry the top off the step, and pull out everything in there," he ordered me.

            "Then what?" I demanded.  What the hell was going on?!?!

            "Put it all in a bag or something and then, now listen close, get out of the house.  Don't take anything with you and don't go out the front door.  Hurry, okay.  Take the next train down here and-," he stopped short and I heard someone yell in the background.

            "Terry, you need to take a look at this!"

            "Okay!" he called back.  "Don't ask why sweetheart, just do what I said.  It's all gonna be alright, I promise."

            "Terry!  Now!"  

            "Dad?" I…I don't know what I was going to ask, but I just wanted to hear him speak.

            "Go! Quickly Honey!  There's no time left!" 

            "Daddy?"  But the only sound was the dial tone.  He was gone.  I sat there, dumbfounded, for several seconds.  And then, it was like I had been plugged into an electric socket.  I was up and racing about the house.  I darted up to my room and grabbed a few things, despite what my father had told me.  I shoved in my cell phone and a flashlight and my wallet.  As an afterthought, I went back and got the journals as well.  Then I tore down the step, taking them three at a time.  I practically flew into the basement.  I grabbed a hammer off my dad's tool bench and pried up the step.  Inside was an ordinary shoe box and what looked like a really sophisticated pistol.  I shove the box into my backpack, but I tucked the pistol into the back of my blue jeans, like they did in the movies.  I had a feeling I'd be needing it.  I decided to go out the same way I snuck it.  See, I had loosened the latch that covered the one of the window well, and with some careful movement, I could just barely squeeze through the tiny decorative window that it covered.  

            I was halfway through the window when I heard someone pounding on the front door.  It would seem that my father had called me just in time.  I hauled myself through the window and clambered out of the well, when I heard the terrific **CRASH** that could only be the door being broken down.  I emerged behind the large evergreen bushes on the side of the house.  Carefully, I duck-walked behind them and peeked around the corner.  There were two black SUV's parked in the drive and a third on the street.  There was only one guy outside the house.  He was dressed in black and was sporting a weapon similar to mine.  Quietly, I crawled around to the back of the house, darted into my neighbor's bushes, and fled down the block, running through the backyards.

            It took me a good twenty minutes to get to the train station on foot.  I was utterly exhausted by the time I got there, both physically and mentally.  But I was pretty sure I'd lost whoever was after me.  Or…al least I though so until I spotted 2 similar SUV's parked in the main lot, right in front of the station door.  My blood froze in my veins.

            "I'm in such deep shit!" I cursed to myself.  I was in way over my head.  And I didn't even know what was going on!  Then a sudden idea hit me, and it made me want to be sick.  I pulled out my cell phone and scrolled through it until I came to my cousin's phone number.  Second cousin actually, but our families are really close.  Yesterday, it would have been the number of my Aunt Cassidy and Uncle Jared.  Today, it was the number of Aunt Cassie and Uncle Jake, the former heroes of the entire world.  The phone rang once, twice, a third time before I was directed to an answering machine.  I was leaving a message when someone answered the phone.

            "Kit?  Is that you?" a tiny voice asked me.  It was the youngest girl, Lauren, who was about eight.  Then I heard someone else pick up another extension.

            "Lauren, get off the phone," they told the youngster.  I breathed a huge sigh of relied.  It was Daniel, the eldest son, who was a year my senior.

            "Dan?  It's Kit?  Listen, I need to ask yo-," I started to say, but he cut me off.

            "Kit?  Good.  Listen, have you heard from my folks.  My dad's office called to say he didn't come in."

            "They did?"  My heart skipped about 10 beats.  "Daniel, get out of the house right now!  Don't ask why, but something is up and you're not safe there. Go stay with a neighbor or something and don't tell anyone where you're going."  I don't usually bark orders like that, but I had no time to explain, and Danny could be a real pain in the ass sometimes

            "What?  Now Kit, what are you trying to-," he started to ask.

            "Just DO IT!" I screamed, and hung up the phone.  He'd be more likely to listen that way.  Aside from that, there wasn't much I could do.  They live over a hundred miles away.  Then, putting my phone away, I blended in carefully with a crowd crossing the street, and headed away from the station.

            Not really knowing what to do, and with it going on 6, I walked about three miles back and went to this park I'd played at when I was little.  I sat down in one of the swings, dragging my feet through the dirt as different thoughts and ideas flashed through my mind.  Truth be told, I was alone, I was confused, my family was missing, and I…I was scarred beyond my wildest dreams.


	3. Aid

Chapter 3

            I sat there, in those bucket seats that had seemed so big when I was younger.  My dad, when he was home, used to walk up here with me.  He'd push me and I'd yell "higher", "higher" until my feet appeared to touch the clouds.  My dad said I had the makings of a fantastic pilot.  I'd once asked him why he'd joined the Air Force in the first place, since it kept him away from his family so much.  He told me that, despite everything (the hard work, the time away) there was no experience more amazing than flying…Oh My God!

            I ripped open the bag and yanked out the newspaper clipping.  There, perched on my mother's shoulder, was a large hawk.  My father?!?!  I knew Tobias's story…everyone did.  He'd been trapped in a hawk morph a, a nothlit.  But somehow, and this was never clear, he's recovered his ability to morph.  Even then, he'd chosen to remain a hawk so that he could continue to fight.  After the war he must have…for my mother…wow, this was all too much.

            "So dad, you traded in your real wings for a pair of steel ones, eh?" I muttered to no one, tracing the outline of the picture with my fingers.  I out back the picture, pulled out my phone, and called the receptionist at the base.

            "Yes, how may I direct your call?"  
            "I'd um, like to speak to Colonel Terrance please."

            "Hold on a moment…I'm sorry, he's not here, can I direct you to his voicemail?"

            "No.  This is his daughter, can you tell me where he went?"

            "I'm not actually sure.  He just said he had some urgent business to take care of."  
            "Thank you," I muttered sadly.  So, they had my father too.  I felt anger welling up inside of me.  It was the Yeerks, had to be, back for a rematch.  Had to be.  Well I'd be damned if I was going to sit back and let them take everyone I cared about away from me.  

            "Better watch out Yeerks, 'cause you messed with the wrong chick!"

            I crawled out of the bushes and gently tapped on the window, praying nobody had seen me come here.  The shades parted above me and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

            "Bobby," I hissed, "let me in!"  Bobby and his twin sister Bridget are my best friends.  Bobby is one of those technological whiz kid, idiot savant thingies.  No seriously, he can disassemble a computer and put it together in about 6 hours flat.  I've seen him do it.  He's the kind of guy who, if you hand 2 pipe cleaners and a rubber band to, can rig up an intergalactic satellite or something.  Basically, he is brilliant, and I had a feeling that I'd be thanking my lucky stars that I knew him.

            "Should I ask why you're hanging out in my bushes at 8 o'clock at night?" he questioned as he grabbed my forearms and hauled my inside.

            "No, not really."

            "Okay, than can I ask why you're here?"  He returned to his computer as I flopped down on his floor.  I  hadn't realized how utterly exhausted I was until that very moment.  Right then, all I really wanted to do was pull the pillow off his bed and sleep for, like 2 weeks.  I decided to give him the abridged version of what had happened instead.

            "My parents are former Animorphs and they were kidnapped by the Yeerks who are out for revenge and they're after me too, only I've decided to try and save them and I need your help to figure out where they are and how to get them out," I said in one breath, going very fast.

            "Well, pretty shity day then, huh?" he questioned.  I chuckled grimly.

            "Yeah, pretty shity day."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~            

I'd asked Bobby to hack into the pentagon database to try and see if there had been any unauthorized space activity of late.  While he handled that, I filled him in with all the little details.

            "Yeah, mom never showed up at work, and then dad went missing," I informed him

            "So, Rachel and Tobias, huh?  Why do you think they went to all the trouble of changing names and locations.  I mean, they're famous.  Why leave that all behind?" he wondered.

            "I don't know," I said absently.  I was sitting on his bed, paging through my mom's journals, looking for something helpful.  "My mom's form was dated just after I was conceived.  And she's always been overprotective of me.  I think they were afraid of Yeerk retaliation; afraid I'd get hurt.  Afraid of what just happened."  My voice dropped.

            "Hey, were gonna find them.  I'll tear apart cyberspace until I do," Bobby assured me gently.  Then he jumped back on topic.  "But they ravaged the Yeerk empire.  According to this," he gestured to the screen, "they're only at 15% of their former strength.  How could they expect to succeed?"  

            "My mom wrote in the last journal, that the last battle, before the destruction of the pool ship, was against a controller named Tom and a band of his followers.  After the Visser's death earlier that day, they hijacked his Blade ship.  There was a massive dogfight between them and an Andalite cruiser, along with the Animorphs on the pool ship.  The Blade ship was damaged and escaped into Z-space.  It sounded like this was kind of a personal battle.  Like everyone had a beef with this 'Tom' person.  Anyway, I get the feeling that maybe this his him and his little crew, back solely for revenge."  I shrugged, "at least, that's my only motive right now.  Find anything yet?" I demanded.

            "No.  I'm going over to the Air Force CPU.  They'd be more likely to handle something as minor as a space breech…"  I kinda stopped listening then.  His mention of the Air Force just reminded me of my dad and made me depressed all over again.

            "I might never see them again…" I muttered dejectedly.  Bobby spun around in his chair, facing me.

            "Don't talk like that.  If you're your parents' child, and I know you are, you'll find a way to get them back.  And I'll be there to help every step of the way."  I was about to thank him, but that's when Bridget stormed in.

            "What the-," she'd started to demand loudly, but I clamped my hand over her mouth and yanked her in before she could get anything else out.

            "Shhhhhhhh!  Keep it down," I ordered her.  "No one can know I'm here."

            "Why _are_ you here?" she questioned, but quieter than before.  I opened my mouth to explain, but Bobby jumped right in.

            "She's using me to hack into national computers so that I can find her parents, whose names are actually Rachel and Tobias, who have been captured by a small Yeerk task force bent on revenge so that she can charge in and save them."  Well, Bridget looked first at her brother, then at me, and remained silent for a good two minutes.  She looked at the gun or dracon beam or whatever, that I'd put on the bed, picked up and flipped through all three journals, and then looked back at me, her brows arched in contempt.

            "So, let me see if I have this straight.  You can't morph,"

            "Yup."

            "you can't shoot,"

            "Uh-huh."

            "and you have no idea where you're going,"

            "yes."

            "yet you plan on taking down an entire alien force and saving your parents, is that it?"

            "yep…pretty much."

            "Wicked!!" Bobby called to us, not even bothering to look up from his work.


	4. Return

Chapter 4

Bridget snuck out and made me a sandwich and brought me in a coke. I _so_ need some caffeine. As I ate, I continued reading the second journal, sitting on the edge of Bobby's bed. Bridget sat on the floor, propped up against the mattress reading the third. At first I'd objected to letting anyone else read them, but she said that it would be easier to hunt for relevant information if we both knew what we were looking for. It turns out that my luck hadn't totally been destroyed today, because around 9 Bob and Bridg's parents decided they were going to meet some old friends at a late movie. After they left, we were able to actually talk and move about more freely. I went into the bathroom and washed some off some of the mud and dirt that had collected on my skin after a day of crawling through bushes and window wells. I felt a little better…you know, liked a foot above rock bottom. When I dragged myself back to Bobby's room, he was looking slightly triumphant.

"What?" I demanded, "What did you find?" He gestured me over to look at the screen. It was a bunch or radar maps and charts that meant nothing to me, but a whole lot to Bobby.

"See here," he said, pointing to a symbol that might as well have been sand script to me, "that's an unauthorized atmosphere breech." He pointed to the corner of the screen where I finally recognized something.

"That's military time," I cried triumphantly

"Bingo! The breech occurred around 3 this afternoon. Now here," he continued, highlighting another page, "this shows a similar breech at about quarter to four. My guess is that one is-,"

"-a ship entering and then leaving later. And that's right when my dad went missing." I said the words before I actually felt them. Leaving…no, it couldn't…they can't be.

"Hey! No, don't get all depressed on me again. You see this," Bobby said, indicating a line drawn in blue, "they launched a cruiser in pursuit. They went after them. Even if they jump into Z-space now, we'll be able to follow. We will get your parents back."

"You bet your ass, they will," said Bridget, standing in the doorway. I hadn't realized she was there. She walked over and out her arm around my shoulder and, leading me to the bed, sat me down. 

"I…I have this feeling, I don't know. Bobby, where exactly did that ship come in?" I questioned, trying to figure out this odd instinct I had.

"Um…coordinates point to an area just outside San Francisco, suburban area…right around the original infestation point," he finished, looking up in disbelief. 

"Right, exactly. Something about this doesn't feel right. Why," I wondered aloud, "kidnap people if you know you're going to get caught?" I looked back and forth between my friends.

"Um, pure revenge, and…uh, well that's about it," Bridget replied.

"Yes, but the Yeerks, well, they always had another motive in mind. I don't think that revenge is it.

"What do you base that assumption on?" Bobby wondered.

"The feeling on the back of my neck, in the pit of my stomach, and my mother's thoughts on the topic," I said defiantly, waving the journal under his nose. "Do I need anymore proof?" I said more aggressively than I'd intended to.

"Nope!" Bobby said, raising his hands and pretending to fend me off with a ruler on his desk.

"So, what do you intend to do?" Bridget chimed in.

"Bobby, you parents left the van, right?"

"Yes…"

"I need you to drive me to the next train station."

"Where exactly are you planning on going," demanded Bridget

"I'm gonna re-trace my roots." I gestured to the computer map, "I'm going right there. I'm going back home."

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

"You wanna hear any particular station back there?"

"Ha, Ha, Bridget, and also Ha." I muttered. Let me set the scene Bobby was driving his parent's green minivan. You see, even thought the twins are, duh, the same age, Bobby is the only one who can drive. It's a long story but it involves track practice, required credits, and summer jobs. Anyway, Bridget was sitting in the passenger seat, playing with the radio. And me, I was scrunched under the back seat. Yes, under it, along with my back pack. See, we were afraid I'd be spotted if I was sitting normally, seeing as 3 teens in a minivan at 10:30 would look a little suspicious. 

"Well be there in about 10 minutes, so just chill back there, okay.

"No, I planned on going ballistic right now! Yes I'll chill. I've got nothing better to do." Okay, so I was testy, but it was understandable, considering the day I'd had. Plus let me be the first to tell you that under the seat is not one of the more comfortable ways to ride. But it got me there. After Bobby did a quick walkthrough of the parking lot and building, we decided it was safe to go on. I gave him the money to buy me a ticket. And I exited the car only minutes before the train was due to arrive.

"You guys, thanks for everything," I muttered quietly as I exited out the side of the car. But as I walked past the passenger side of the car, something stopped me. Bridget's hand was gripping tightly to my arm through the open window.

"Sure you won't let me come?" she questioned plaintively.

"Yeah…this is my fight. I have to do it on my own."

"Just, be careful, okay. Come back in one piece."

"I will, thanks again guys," I called, waving as I walked away. Hoping against hope that I'd see them again. 'No, don't think like that' I told myself. I have to stay positive. I climbed on the train, every sense tuned in for the slightest sign that I'd been followed. But luck seemed again to be in my favor. I wasn't pursued.

I slept most of the 300 mi ride there. I was mentally drained and sleep seemed the perfect escape. It wasn't. I dreamed of my parents and I walking to that old park. Then suddenly, they dropped out, falling away down this pit of blackness and me, trying desperately to grab them. But still they fell, until I could no longer see them. I woke with a start, in a cold sweat. My heart was crying, but even alone, in that dark train car, my tears refused to run. I knew that if I broke down now, I would never be able to keep going. And I had to keep going.

I focused on the job at hand. As far as I knew, I was way low on time, so I had to be quick when I reached my destination. I had decided where to start my search and I prepared by re-reading through everything my mother had written on the subject. I was well prepared and rearing to go when the train pulled to a stop.

"This is it," I said to no one.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* 

Walking through my mom's old town was like jumping through a portal to the past. I saw what I'd pictured so clearly through her words. I made my way to a mall, _the_ mall if my directions were correct. I passed through the food court and I had to do a double take when I glanced five kids sitting together out of the corner of my eye, just hanging out. I felt as if…it was like being alone in a museum. Like it was just me, taking a private trip through memories I'd never lived, only heard of. It was bizarre and yet, peaceful in a way. 

I found an old phone book hanging limply from an out of order pay phone. It didn't matter, I only needed the address. I ripped out the page I needed, and set out.

"Man," I muttered to myself, "I'm going to be in such good shape after this is all over. I'd give anything to be able to drive." But even if it took a while, walking did get me where I needed to go. I stopped in front of your run-of-the-mill suburban split level. It was beige brick and brown siding, with flower beds out front and a sign in one of them that said _Home of Spoiled Dog_. Part of me though that this was crazy, but I trusted my instincts and rang the bell.

"Hello, can I help you?" I was surprised. The man who answered the door seemed to be the epiphany of normalcy. He looked to be in his mid-sixties, salt n' pepper hair, average weight. Even the interior of the house appeared normal. I could hear the sounds of a T.V in a background and there was a coat-rack visible next to the door. But I'd learned to start looking past outward appearances, and I knew in my gut that I was in the right place.

"Um, yeah. I'm looking for Erek King."


	5. History

Chapter 5

            Needless to say the next few hours registered high numbers on my bizarre-o-meter.

            "Um, yeah.  I'm looking for Erek King." I told the man.

            "Oh," he seemed taken aback a little, "I'm sorry Erek no longer lives here."

            "Really?  Sorry to bother you then…" and I turned to go but the man stopped me.         

            "No bother.  Erek moved out when he got married.  I'm his father, David King.  Why don't you come inside."  He turned in the doorway and I followed suit.  He led me down the hall to a standard living room.

            "Please, have a seat.  Would you like something to drink?" he asked politely.

            "No," I replied shaking my head, "thank you, but actually I'm in a little bit of a hurry."  I reached into my backpack and pulled out the crumpled newspaper clipping.  I passed it to the man.  "I believe you knew my parents, the bird and the blonde chick on the left?" I wondered, praying this Mr. King was the right Mr. King.  He took the paper from me and I watched his eyes grow wide with disbelief.  He looked me up and down and then turned back to the picture.

            "You're Rachel and Tobias's daughter?" he questioned

            "Yup, one and the same.  Name's Kit." I said, extending my hand.  He reached out and shook in vigorously.

            "I haven't heard from any of them in a long time…," he muttered as I watched the mixed emotions play over his face…or rather play over his hologram.  I knew what Mr. King _really _was.  He seemed to regain his composure then.  "Well Kit, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.  You're the spitting image of your mother.  Now, why do I get the feeling you're not here for a friendly visit?" he asked, seeming both warm and wary at the same time.

            "Because I'm not.  Something happened and…and I need some help, from someone who knows the Yeerks."  I could tell that that piqued his interest.  I continued, "My parents, they went miss-," but Mr. King silenced me with a wave of his hand.

            "I cannot help you in that department.  I'm surprised you didn't know that, since you seem well informed about my people."  He seemed both bitter and disappointed at the same time.  

            "Hey, listen!  My mother and father kept their promise, they told me nothing, about _any_ of this.  I found out on my own.  Besides, I know you can't fight."  I raised my hand to keep him from interrupting.  "And I'm not asking you to, but I'm trying to find some answers and according to this," I said as I revealed my mother's writings, "your people usually have a lot of those."  Mr. King didn't say anything, so I took that as a good sign.  "So you can throw me out if you want and I won't bother you again, or you can help me save the only family I've got."  I glared back at him defiantly.  For some reason, the way he spoke put me of the offensive, and I had a feeling he would be key in helping me unravel this mystery.  Finally, he spoke.

            "Obviously your looks weren't the only thing you got from your mother," he said, but smiled to take the sting out of the words.  "Come, lets go somewhere we can talk in private."  He beckoned me to follow him and I did as he led me down a flight of steps and into a basement.  "Would you like to see it?" he asked me.  I was confused until I suddenly felt the floor lurch below me.

            "What, you me the doggie park, sub-basement thing?  Sure."  Not that I had much choice at that point, what with the floor sinking deeper every second.  Still, I was intrigued nonetheless.  After a few minutes of sinking in silence, the floor stopped, not affecting Mr. King in the slightest, but sending me sprawling to the floor.  Sheepishly, I got to my feet and followed him down a hall that seemed to stretch forever.  But suddenly, I'd run out of hallway and there it was.  Picture a nature preserve/pooch kennel the size of a football stadium, but completely underground.  I mean, it was amazing.  Every architect in the world would walk through fire just to get a glimpse of the place.  And dogs, man were there a lot of dogs.  Every breed imaginable, mutts, puppies, small, big.  You name it, it lived there.  And just to add to the weirdness of the entire scene, scattered about in groups were the Chee.  The Chee minus the holograms.  In fact, their android forms actually resembled dogs themselves, with floppy ears and paw-like appendages.  But back to the matter at hand.

            Mr. King sat down under an ancient oak tree in to the left of the door.  He beckoned me to join him and I did, sitting down only to be practically crushed underneath 20 slobbering, barking, and drooling dogs.  After they settled down (some on top of me) Mr. King got down to business.

            "Now, what exactly do you need to know?" he questioned.  To tell you the truth, I hadn't actually thought past getting him to help me.

            "Um…oh, what really happened during that final battle.  You know, between my folks and this Tom character?"            

            "Now that I do know," he began, when suddenly the air around me shimmered.

            "What did you do?" I demanded, frightened at first, believing I may have walked into a trap.

            "Calm yourself.  It's just a holographic projector.  Now…" and as he began to describe that day, I watched it unfold before me.  I watched the events take place as Mr. King's story carried me deep within the past.  "Tom, or rather Kiflen 8391, was a power hungry Yeerk.  He was the recently appointed Visser 1' right hand um, man, in a manner of speaking.  But Kiflen wanted direct power.  He was tired of waiting in the wings.  When the Visser received his promotion, the Council of 13 decided it was time for them to inspect the Visser's progress directly.  But Z-Space had shifted, and a journey that used to take 3 day, now took approximately 3 weeks, during which time, the council would be in a communications blackout.  Nothing getting in, nothing getting out.  Kiflen saw his opportunity.  He planned to take control of Earth, to look like the hero when the council arrived.  But first he had to get rid of the Visser.  Now, the 'Andalite bandits' were a constant thorn in the Yeerk's side, but Tom planned to use them to his advantage.  He approached them, claiming to have joined the peace movement.  He offered to help them stage a direct attack on the Yeerk pool.  Tom and several of his deputies had secretly met with a Skrit Na crew.  They traded for a quantum bomb," Mr. King continued, pausing when he saw I was confused.  "It's a _really_ powerful explosive."

            "Ah, okay"

            "There had been problems with the pool's plumbing system at that time.  One of Tom's followers was the head technician and installed the bomb in the plumbing system when they made repairs.  But Tom created a fake.  He told the Animorphs that he needed their help to plant in the pool.  He planned to blow the real bomb while both the Visser and the Animorphs were at the pool."

            "But Jake knew they couldn't trust Tom.  He knew Tom was planning to double cross them.  So they formulated a plan.  Tom, with the Visser out of the way, was going to take control to the Blade Ship.  His allies aboard the Pool Ship, hanging just beyond Earth's atmosphere, were to stage a mutiny.  When the Council arrived he would tell them how the 'Andalite bandits' had destroyed the central Yeerk pool along with the Visser.  Then how he had taken control of the Pool ship because he suspected they were harboring traitors and how he and his followers had then hunted down the bandits one by one.  It wouldn't take long for him to rise to Visser status with credentials like that." 

            "But Jake and the Animorphs were ready.  They knew about the bomb, Ax could instantly tell the one Tom had given them was a fake.  The Animorphs escaped when the bomb was detonated, but faked that they had been killed.  When Tom's forces tried to take the Pool ship, they had no idea that the other forces aboard were not the Visser's but rather the free Hork-Bajir, members of the Peace Movement, and the allied Taxoxns.  They quickly squashed Tom's rebellion.  When the ship was in Allied control, the Animorphs were smuggled aboard.  Their allies pretended that Tom's rebellion had been a success.  They planned to dock with the Blade Ship and capture Tom.  But something went wrong.  Months earlier Ax had created a distress beacon, designed to attract the Andalite fleet.  Well, one heard it.  The cruiser ship _Escalade_ came out of Z-Space just minutes before Tom's ship would have reached the Pool ship.  They engaged in a dog fight and damaged the right wing engine of the Blade Ship.  Unable to fight, and knowing that they had been led into a trap, Tom and his forces escaped into Z-Space.  Andalite forces attempted to follow, but it was too late.  Today, the Blade Ship is to space what the Yeti is to the Himalayas.  People claim to have seen it, but no one can confirm.  It was believed they wanted to re-join the empire, the Andalite's launched a full out assault on the Yeerk home world before they arrived.  It was a monumental victory.  And when the Council of 13 arrived at Earth, there we're allied forces from across the galaxy waiting to meet them.  It was the beginning of the end for the Yeerk empire." 

            The scene behind Mr. King suddenly darkened and picture began to fade.  What could I say?  I felt both proud of my parents and my people, and sick from watching the images of violence unfold in front of me.  What could I say?  The silence was broken by a buzzing coming from my back pack, laying in a heap beside me.  I dove for it and rummaged around inside, finally grasping my cell phone.

            "Hello?" I gasped into the receiver.

            "Kit?  It's Bobby."

            "What is it Bobby?  This isn't exactly a great time." I muttered, both relieved for the distraction and aggravated at the interruption.

            "You were right!  It was a fake.  The ship-,"

            "Whoa!  Slow down.  What ship?"

            "_The_ ship.  The one that we found leaving the atmosphere yesterday."  I caught the excitement in his voice.

            "What about it?" I demanded eagerly.

            "It blew up.  Two hours ago it self destructed.  And Kit?"

            "Yeah?"  My heart was in my mouth.

            "There was no one on board.  It _was _a decoy."

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Author's Note: Hi all.  I know the last battle details are a combination of my personal ideas and KA's ingenuity.  So no flames please!  Also thanks for all the gr8 reviews.  You guys have really kept me working on this story.  Keep 'em coming.  Until next chapter..Ciao!


	6. Puzzle

Chapter 6

            Mentally, this was like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle in the dark.  A decoy?  Why?  What did it mean?  Then suddenly, two of the pieces fit together.

            "Bobby, can you try to see if there were any other breeches in the area say…in the past month?"  I heard his keyboard clicking rapidly in the background.

            "Sure.   Not a problem, just gimme a sec here…no, nothing here.  Although, there was one suspicious entry.  Two weeks ago, bout 15 miles off the coast over the Pacific Ocean.  They didn't investigate though because they picked up the same energy signature leaving just minutes later.  Labeled it under the heading 'lost freighter'.

            "Okay, now just stay with me here.  Isn't it possible to fake an energy signature?  I mean, they just pick up the ion debris and follow the trail right?"

            "Well, yeah, if you launched a pod or missile or probe that was similar in size to the ship."

            "Okay, say they did that and this ship remained inside the atmosphere.  As long as they were cloaked and not moving, radar wouldn't pick them up, right."

            "Right…where are you going with this?" he questioned me in that 'talking to crazy friend' kinda voice.

            "Just listen.  So you're a ship, trying to sneak into the atmosphere.  You drop of your crew, pick an out of the way spot, park in mid-air, launch a little probe to throw 'em off the trail, and chill for two weeks.  The decoy was launched so that the ship had less of a chance of being spotted as they picked up the ground crews and headed to a location here on the planet.  That's feasible, isn't in?" I asked desperately.

            "Well ye-," but I cut him off.

            "Then I have one more task for you.  I need you to try to find a possible site in the area.  Something tells me they're nearby.  Alright?  Thanks a bunch."  I hung up without waiting for a response.  He'd find something, he had to.  Still, I found that I could breath a little easier knowing that they were still on the planet.  I looked up with a start.  I'd almost forgotten Mr. King was there.  I smiled sheepishly.

            "Sorry, but it was pretty big news…"

            "I know.  My hearing is pretty good," he retorted, grinning like no 60 year old should.

            "I'll forgive you for eavesdropping later," I said, maybe harsher than I'd intended to.  "So know we know 'where', but I still haven't figured out 'why'," I continued, more to myself than to anyone.  Still thinking I stuck my phone back into my bag, but on the way out, my hand brushed against something.  I grabbed and wrenched it out.

            "What _is_ this thing," I said, handing the object to Mr. King.  "It isn't mine, that's for sure."  It was black and resembled an outdated Palm Pilot.  It was about the size of my hand, rectangular in shape and had a screen that took up most of its front.  Underneath it there was a row or six buttons, but instead of numbers, there were symbols that I'd never seen before.  Mr. King turned it over in his hands.

            "It's a Z-Space transponder of some kind.  Newer model.  Hard to get on Earth though.  Only world leaders and military personnel have them."

            "A Z-Space whatsit?" I questioned, utterly confused.

            "Think intergalactic cell phone," he explained.  "You dial these buttons with the serial codes of the ship and then communicate normally.  There's speaker on the side here," he said pointing.  

            "The symbol's are Basic?" I asked, referring to the universal language most races spoke either primarily or secondarily.

            "Yes.  The ship codes can be from 4 to 20 symbols long and each ship has one," he said.  "But I think the main question is not how it works, but how you got it in the first place."

            "I have no idea.  All I packed was some cash, my phone, some clothes from Bridget, and my father's bo…oh."  I had almost forgotten about my father's box.  Unconsciously, I added another piece to the jigsaw puzzle.  I decided it was finally time to see what my dad was hiding.  

            "I was told to take this with me," I explained to Mr. King.  "It was the last thing my father told me before…well, you know.  The transponder must have fallen out of the box."  Quickly, I drew out the box.  One corner had popped open.  Slowly I drew up the lid.  There was only one thing inside: a lumpy, wad of cloth.  It was an old towel, I think.  I peeled back the layers, finally exposing the object hidden inside.

            "Well," I said, "this changes _everything_." I muttered sarcastically.  Sitting in my hand, wrapped in a moth-eaten rag, was one of the most coveted devices in the entire universe.

            "It's an escafil device," Mr. King whispered

            "It's the blue box," I murmured.  We were both right.

            It was Elfangor's Blue Box.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

            Suddenly, there way too many puzzle pieces.  All the information I had gathered was circling around in my head.  But I felt like I was overlooking something.  What?!  What was I missing?  Then it hit me.

            "The other motive!"  I cried triumphantly.  That's it.

            "What?  What do you mean?" demanded Mr. King.

            "The Yeerks.  When my friends and I were talking earlier, I said that the Yeerks always had another motive.  That they weren't strong enough to just come back for revenge.  But there was no other reason for them to come back.  Until now," I said, waving the half-wrapped object triumphantly under his nose.  "They're after this!  Ha Ha, that's it!"  I got up and spun around in place.  

            "There's just one problem," Mr. King said, interrupting my euphoria.

            "What?  No, no there isn't"

            "Yes, _why _do they want it in the first place?"  Well, that about killed my good mood in one fell swoop.

            "Gee, just spoil my first bit of happy news in like two days, why dontcha," I responded.

            "Sorry, but we must be realistic here," he said seriously, but his eyes held sympathy.  "But until your friend finds any information, we are stuck.  So I'd suggest that we go upstairs and get something to eat," he suggested, then he smiled.  "Don't worry, I was Wolfgang Puck's teacher in culinary school." 

            Halfway through the best grilled cheese I've ever tasted, I had an idea.

            "How hard is it to operate one of those transponder thingies?" I asked Mr. King, who was loading his dishwasher.

            "Not to hard, so long as you have the correct codes.  Why do you ask?" he wondered, eyeing me dangerously.

            "Well, we need to know why the Yeerks would go to the trouble to steal the box.  The Andalites are heading the eradication of the Yeerks.  Do you know anyone in the Andalite fleet?" I wondered.

            "Yeeeessss.  Prince Aximi…oh.  No.  He is one of the foremost leaders in the Andalite army.  You'll never be able to get a hold of him.  He'll be surrounded by assistants, you'll never get through to him."

            "Not even if it's an emergency call from his grand-niece?" I asked mischievously.

            "His grand-oh!," he raised his eyebrow in my direction, then surprisingly, he laughed.  "That just might work.  And he'll probably have some helpful info and advice.  One of our people is an Air-Force control tower employee.  He's lives across the country, but he'll probably know."

            "What, you telepathic now, too?" I demanded sarcastically.

            "No, Chee-Net…I'll explain it later."   Man, it was amazing how quickly the strange becomes normal.  I just sat there, munching on my sandwich while the ancient robot across the room used his telepathic Internet to contact another robot for the phone number of a spaceship.  Jeez, life had gotten weird in the last 36 hours.

            "Got it!" Mr. King cried triumphantly.  He wrote down a series of symbols on a napkin and pushed it across to me.  "There!  That should help us get some answers."  I have to admit, my stomach soured a little at the thought.  I mean, my Grandfather and my Great-Uncle were both aliens.  But family is family…hey, if I could spend holidays with my Aunt Jordan…well, enough said.  I was getting ready to go downstairs and grab the transponder thingie, when a much more normal phone rang.  I fumbled with it, finally answering and getting it up to my ear.

"Tell me it's good news," I demanded.

            "Hello to you too," Bobby complained.

            "Sorry…so, what did you find?" I questioned eagerly.

            "Only one facility in the area that's a possibility.  Abandon military base 'bout 300 miles south of where you are."

            "What kind of base?"  Better to be prepared.

            "That's the thing, I can't find out.  It's labeled as Classified, and all of those records would be stored as paper work."

            "So, nothing?"

            "No, I did get a layout map.  It has a hangar and runway strip, but it's too small to be Air Force.  Only outside info I could dig up on it is that it was run by the late Captain Torrelli and it's serial number was six, zero, zero, three, ninner, one.  Sorry, I always wanted to say ninner."  Torrelli?  Why did that name sound so familiar?  
            "Hey Bobby, I got another question for ya'?" I said, remembering where'd I heard that name.  "You ever heard of the fabled Zone 91?"


End file.
